Point out no one runs to get wine (5,4)
Solution - Pinot Noir
“Out” is a clue
that there is an anagram of “point”
Point (pinot) +
“no one runs” ie No 1 R (for runs in cricket) + Pinot Noir, a wine
This clue involves both an anagram and abbreviations.
Happy
anagram hunting.
For the next clue in the series, click here
This clue involves both an anagram and abbreviations.
These clues
usually come in 3 parts – the definition, the target of the anagram ie the
letters that will be scrambled up to find the answer, and the anagram indicator
or signal or clue that there is an anagram.
There are a myriad of possible indicators.
Examples of
anagram indicators include:
Abnormal
|
Adapted
|
All wrong
|
At sea
|
Arranged
|
Assorted
|
Badly
|
Broadcast
|
Broken up
|
Carelessly
|
Corrupt
|
Different
|
Distorted
|
Engineered
|
Exploded
|
Fermented
|
Frisky
|
Garbled
|
Go to pieces
|
Haphazard
|
Horrible
|
In a mess
|
In ruins
|
Knotted
|
Lunatic
|
Manipulate
|
Mixed
|
Naughty
|
Newly made
|
Out of sorts
|
Peculiar
|
Perverted
|
Queer
|
Rebel
|
Revolting
|
Sadly
|
Stirred
|
Tangled
|
Turned
|
Unruly
|
Untidy
|
Variety
|
Warped
|
Wild
|
Wrongly
|
Most of
these indicators have a sense of movement.
When you
suspect there might be an anagram because of the presence of something that
looks like an indicator, the first thing to do is to look for the target of the
anagram. It will usually be immediately
before or after the indicator and, crucially, must have the same number of
letters as the required solution. You
will always find the number of letters in brackets after the clue.
When you
have found a target, you need to find words that can be made out of it. In my case I find it easier to write the letters
out grouped into vowels (+y) and consonants – in no particular order within
each group. I find it easier to solve if
I break the mental connection to the original word or words used in the
target. Any letters you already have as
a result of solving other clues will also be of great help. The biggest help though is the part of the
clue that gave you a definition of what the solution will mean. That will get you thinking of possibilities
and may lead you straight away to see that one of them matches the letters to
be scrambled.
If you don’t
mind cheating a bit you can always use a crossword solver – either off the internet like this one or get a hand held one. They will have an anagram solver where you
just feed in the letters and possible solutions pop out. But not all anagrams can be solved that way –
for example where the answer is more than one word they are not usually able to
help you. (Please note I just linked to a couple of examples. There are many others)
The very
best anagram clues are so seamless that they read as a smooth and believable
whole – where you have to dig under the surface a bit before you realize that
there is an anagram involved.
For the next clue in the series, click here
Oooh oooh I wanna play the next one. When do you post the clues?
ReplyDeleteThe next clue comes up half an hour after the solution for the day before's one. The solutions come up at 8am NZ time.
DeleteI'll definitely try this next time around, it sounds pretty interesting!
ReplyDeletethat's great Tabitha. Happy puzzling.
DeleteMy brain hurts, but this looks seriously cool. I've never been much of a puzzle-solver, but I like the idea of it. :-)
ReplyDeleteGive those brain cells a work out! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
DeleteI like these, although I'm not any good at solving them!
ReplyDeletePractice makes perfect - and once you have "got" how they work you'll never look back. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Delete